1919

by John Dos Passos

Overview

“A Depression-era novel about American tumult has—perhaps unsurprisingly—aged quite well.”—The New Yorker

In 1919, the second volume of his U.S.A. trilogy, John Dos Passos continues his “vigorous and sweeping panorama of twentieth-century America” (Forum).

Employing a host of experimental devices that would inspire a whole new generation of writers to follow, Dos Passos captures the many textures, flavors, and background noises of the era with a cinematic touch and unparalleled nerve.1919 opens to find America and the world at war, and Dos Passos’s characters, many of whom we met in the first volume, are thrown into the snarl. We follow the daughter of a Chicago minister, a wide-eyed Texas girl, a young poet, and a Jewish radical, and we get glimpses of Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Unknown Soldier.

Named one of the Modern Library’s 100 best English-language novels of the twentieth century, “U.S.A. is a masterpiece” (Tim O’Brien) and 1919 is an unforgettable chapter in the saga.

“It’s the kind of book a reader never forgets.”—Chicago Daily Tribune

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544341456
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	06/11/2020
Series:	U.S.A. Trilogy , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	402
Sales rank:	342,600
File size:	884 KB

About the Author

John Roderigo Dos Passos (b.1896, d.1970) was a writer, painter, and political activist. He wrote over forty books, including plays, poetry, novels, biographies, histories, and memoirs. He crafted over four hundred drawings, watercolors, and other artworks.

Dos Passos considered himself foremost a writer of contemporary chronicles. He chose the moniker of “chronicler” because he was happiest working at the edge of fiction and nonfiction.

Both genres benefited from his mastery of observation—his “camera eye”—and his sense of historical context. Dos Passos sought to ground fiction in historic detail and working-class, realistic dialogue. He invented a multimedia format of newsreels, songs, biographies, and autobiography to convey the frenzy of 20th century America’s industrialism and urbanism. His most memorable fiction—Three Soldiers (1920), Manhattan Transfer (1925), U.S.A. (1938)—possesses the authority of history and the allure of myth. Likewise, he sought to vitalize nonfiction history and reportage with the colors, sounds, and smells documented on his journeys across the globe. 

Editorial Reviews

1919 is primarily a 'news' novel. It is a satire on expansionist, 'on the make,' raffish and vulgar America. It is also true characterization. It is able to stick close to the headlines of the newspapaers as it does because its characters, after the manner of so many Americans, live in and by the news. . . . Mr. Dos Passos has quintessentialized and distilled, compressed and foreshortened, until he is able to give the overtones of common chatter without resorting to a dreary literalism. -- Books of the Century; New York Times review, March 1932

John Chamberlain

"As the narrative shifts from one character to another, Drummond maintains a continuity of style yet alters his voice just enough so that the dialogue is distinctive. Drummond's narration is a benchmark for difficult narrations." ---AudioFile

From the Publisher

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a combined review of 1919 and THE BIG MONEY.]--Dos Passos’s U.S.A. trilogy, written in the 1930s, looks at the differences between the rich and the non-rich, showing the contrasts in their lives. The author’s montage style of writing blends narrative, bits and pieces from newspapers, songs, and more. Narrator David Drummond provides a unique delivery that manages to combine these disparate elements into a coherent reading. As the narrative shifts from one character to another, Drummond maintains a continuity of style yet alters his voice just enough so that the dialogue is distinctive. Drummond’s narration is a benchmark for difficult narrations. K.M. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

MAY 2011 - AudioFile